Dreamer's Mark
by Rhymefire
Summary: The Herald of Andraste is just what the Inquisition needs. She's smart, clever and inspires hope in whomever she meets. She's sly enough to stay out of danger but mischievous enough to get into it. As a dreamer she's got lots of experience dealing with spirits and the Fade. It's a shame she's only twelve years old.
1. Chapter 1

Asha would be scared, but her brother is there. Feynriel pulls her close and whispers into her ear, "Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you."

She stills in his embrace and leans into him. The Fade uncoils around her as he starts a simple exercise he created to calm her. Tension drains from her surroundings. She stretches out her hands to join in. Feynriel does not need gestures to help him, but she is still learning and needs that extra action to fully connect with the Fade.

Together they smooth out the twisted, bruised sky and sooth the cracked earth into serenity. Her garden blooms around her. Asha slips from her brother's fingers and touches a budding flower. All around her, petals drift open and release shimmering night-scented dust into the air. Feynriel's pride and approval saturate the soil, and she takes deep breaths.

Feynriel takes her hand and pulls a finger across her palm. Normally, her heart would flutter and pound at the spider-webbed crack running through it, but her brother is there and she is safe.

He pulls her close. "Be brave for me, Asha. I'm going to send a friend of mine to help keep you safe, okay? Her name is Kitty." He steps away from her. "I won't be able to visit you as often. Just for a bit."

"But why? Please don't leave me."

"I'm not going anywhere." He tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. "I'll always be here for you. A lot has happened in the last three days, Asha. The veil is hurt somehow and it's hurting the spirits. Cracks have opened up, and the spirits are getting sucked out of the Fade."

She shuffles her feet. "Oh. That sounds bad."

He kneels down to eye level and smiles. "It is, but I'm doing my best to keep the spirits away from the cracks." Asha feels more than sees his smile falter. "But we're both going to be strong. Can you be strong for me, Asha?"

She nods and flings her arms around his neck. "I love you, Feynriel."

"I love you too," he whispers. "It's time to wake up now."

Her eyes cracked open. Her palm burned and burned. She whimpered and squirmed deeper into the blankets.

"Be still, child." A slender hand touched her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

A bald elf stood over her. A dwarf with an alarming amount of chest hair offered her a glass of water. Asha snatched it and got as much in her mouth as on the bed. The elf muttered something and lifted her out of the sodden blankets.

"I'm not a child, I'm twelve, and I can stand just fine," she said.

The elf's brow twitched slightly, but he set her down. The dwarf looped his arm around her waist. "Well I need help standing, so you can help me."

His eyes twinkled at her, and she didn't have the heart to push him away. It would be like kicking a wisp.

The elf knelt to eye level. "I am Solas," he said. "And this is Varric."

"Okay."

He nodded and waited. For her name probably. She smiled at him, but offered nothing. She would be strong for Feynriel.

"She's a spitfire," Varric said and he gave her a squeeze.

"I'm a human," she said helpfully. The elf's brow twitched again and Varric burst into laughter.

Her palm flared and she bit back a scream. Pain and _wrongness_ lanced through her and she would have collapsed if not for the dwarf holding her. She clenched her hand shut when Solas moved towards her. His mouth became a thin line and he forced her fingers apart.

Acidic green energy sparked from her hand. Asha forced herself to look at it, though it would have been easier to chew her arm off. The air thrummed around them and the elf snapped out something in another language.

Varric untangled himself and nearly ripped a crossbow off his back. "Hide." The two charged out the door. She caught a flash of the same acidic green in the air before it slammed shut.

Asha did her best not to huddle on the floor at the sounds of combat. She didn't like fighting. She never had. It brought back memories of her mother. She shuddered and wrapped her arms around herself. Goosebumps prickled her fingertips.

 _:Don't worry,:_ a voice said in her head. _:I'll protect you.:_ A striped, orange tabby butted her head against Asha's arm. The cat looked up at her, and that was all it needed to do for Asha to know that it was not really a cat.

"Are you Kitty?"

The cat purred and nestled against her. _:Yes. Your brother is a good friend of mine. I'm hoping we can be friends too.:_

She stroked the cat's fur. "I like cats."

 _:Me too.:_

Asha could feel her heartbeat slowing down. It was good to have a spirit with her. She picked up Kitty and cracked open the door. The wound in reality pulsed. Mad spirits swarmed around Solas, Varric and an armoured woman. A lithe archer sent arrows flying into the spirits. Kitty squirmed out of her arms and stared intently at the battle. She hissed and pressed herself against Asha's ankles.

Solas' head snapped towards her. The elf leapt at her and snatcher her hand. Solas pulled her towards the wound and slammed her hand into the crack in reality.

Asha cried out at the pressure that set her palm afire. The wound in reality snapped shut. She wrenched herself away from Solas. The armoured woman stormed towards her. "What did you do?"

Asha stared up at her, heart in her throat. The woman's eyes flashed and she towered over her. Blood dripped of the tip of her sword. This woman couldn't be real. She was thunder incarnate. She had to be. The woman's hands trembled and her voice spiraled up an octave. "What did you _do?_ "

 _:Pretend to cry,:_ Kitty said. _:Trust me.:_

That was all the encouragement Asha needed. She burst into tears and collapsed.

"Cassandra, look at her. She's a child." The archer cradled her and stroked her hair. "She didn't do anything." The archer picked her up and held her delicately, as though she were liable to break apart at any moment. "Come on, let's get you something to eat."

Asha peered over the archer's shoulder and saw Kitty sitting by a copse of trees. The cat switched her tail back and forth and winked. _:I told you I'd keep you safe.:_


	2. Chapter 2

All in all, Haven wasn't that bad. The people there were something else. She was glad that Feynriel had sent Kitty to her. The cat was the only one who was unfazed by Asha's new title. The soldiers around her would nod at her when she passed and call her Herald of Andraste, but none of them could tell her what that meant. Asha knew what it didn't mean. It didn't mean that she could leave Haven. It didn't mean that she could go into the smithy, the apothecary or the war room. It didn't mean that adults would listen to her, especially when she told them that she wasn't a herald of any kind. The fact that she was 'just a child,' as Leliana had put it, meant that it was only more obvious that Andraste herself had blessed her. A grown man surviving the Conclave was impossible. A child? Doubly so.

Asha scowled whenever someone noticed her. She wasn't used to being noticed. Nobody noticed a small child wandering around. She didn't see much of Kitty in that first week at Haven. During the day, the cat would prowl around the citadel. At night, she would tell Asha everything that she'd learned.

One night, Kitty sauntered into their room with her tail held unusually high. _:Did you miss me?:_

Asha sighed and pulled the tabby into her lap. "Yes. Now what's going on? They've been in the war room all day."

 _:They've been arguing the whole week about what to do, but they finally have a plan. First, we're going to go to the Hinterlands and meet a member of the Chantry. Then we're visiting to Orlais to address the Chantry. After that, we're going to convince the Templars to join the Inquisition.:_

Asha scratched Kitty's ears. "And what are we going to do?"

 _:We are going to go with them. You and I have important business in the Hinterlands. There's a horsemaster named Dennet that we're going to need. That's all we have to do. After that, everything should fall into place nicely.:_

"What does that mean?"

Kitty twitched her whiskers, a cat's version of a smile. :Do you like horses?:

"They're okay."

 _:Well I'm going to get you the most useful horse in all of Thedas,:_ Kitty purred _. :He's a good friend of mine and you two are going to get along famously.:_

"That's why we need a stablemaster?"

 _:Of course. And when you meet him, you must insist on keeping him no matter what anyone else says.:_

She sighed. "Kitty, you know they won't listen to me."

 _:Solas will agree with you. He'll be very interested in my friend.:_

Asha nodded slowly. It really came down to what Cassandra wanted to do, but she did respect the elf.

"When are we leaving?"

 _:Very, very soon. Cassandra will come get you in a few minutes. Now put this in your boot.:_

Kitty ducked under the bed and sent a knife skittering towards her. Asha snatched it. Her eyes bugged out. "Where did you get this?"

The cat purred. _:The smithy, of course. The weapons are for everyone after all, and my claws are only so sharp.:_

"Cassandra's going to be so mad."

 _:She'll be much angrier if you're dead. I'm sure that her Andraste is very busy and can't protect you all the time.:_ Kitty's ears flicked back and her tail lashed irritably.

Asha tapped the cat's nose. "People believe in all kinds of things, Kitty. That's what makes them so interesting."

Kitty said nothing, but she could have sworn that the cat sniffed disdainfully. Asha carefully worked the knife into her boot. She jumped around the room a bit to make sure it wouldn't cut her. It felt a bit odd, but she was sure enough that she wouldn't cut her own foot off.

"You're coming too, right?"

 _:Of course. I doubt they'll turn back just because I'm there. I'm only a cat after all.:_

Asha smiled. Kitty found some excuse to say that at least twice a day. It was obvious that she loved her body. She had no idea how anyone could be frightened of spirits.

True enough, the door opened and Cassandra stood in full armour. "We are going to the Hinterlands. Come with me."

Cassandra turned and marched away, obviously expecting Asha to follow mindlessly. She rolled her eyes and followed. A small crowd of soldiers stood by the gates to see them off. At the gates themselves were Cullen, Leliana and Josephine.

Josephine's hands fluttered nervously and she smoothed Asha's hair back. "Are you sure? I don't like her going out like this, she's so young."

"Am not," Asha said.

Cassandra huffed. "She is the only one who can close the rifts and we need that. I will not let demons destroy the Hinterlands."

"Cassandra will take care of her, Josie," Leliana said. "She'll be fine." Leliana then shot a look at the warrior that read, you better or I'll rip your lungs out. Asha decided that the redhead wasn't all that bad.

By an hour or so, Asha had revised some of her decisions on being thought of as a child. It meant that she didn't have to carry a pack. Everyone else was laden with a bundle of rations and camp supplies. She meanwhile, skipped alongside them. Out of pure habit, she stripped a branch clean of blueberries until Varric caught sight of her. The dwarf waved her off with his crossbow. "Don't just eat that. You don't know where it's been."

She popped one in her mouth. "On the bush."

Cassandra twisted around. "Get away from there." Asha couldn't quite decide who the grim woman was talking to.

"Hey, where are your parents anyways?" Varric said.

The group froze. Cassandra let out a wordless shriek. "It's okay," she said. "I think they're dead or something."

Cassandra slung her pack down. "Or something?"

"Alright," Varric sighed. "Why don't we camp here and you can tell us the whole story."

"I don't have a story," Asha said. "I'm just me. I mean, I stayed with my mom for a bit and then I ran away and found the Dalish, but they kicked me out for burning down an aravel."

Solas said, "You burnt down an aravel?"

She nodded. "It was an accident."

Varric laughed. "How do you accidently burn down an aravel."

"Well I was trying to start a fire with flint and stuff. And then I kind of started one with magic…. They were pretty mad about that…."

Cassandra groaned. "Why didn't you tell us you were a mage?"

Asha shrugged. "I don't know."

Varric waved his hands, either to get their attention or to stop Cassandra from tackling her. "Okay, okay. What then?"

"Stuff, I guess."

"What kind of stuff?" Cassandra spoke through gritted teeth.

"Well I met my brother. He's learning stuff in Tevinter. He teaches me stuff every night, though and he's the best mage in the whole world. I don't know any real magic, but he says that's not important right now because I have to learn how to dream properly first."

Solas asked, in an oddly quiet voice, "Asha, is your brother a dreamer?"

She nodded. "He says I am too, and that's why he has to stay in Tevinter. He learns stuff there and then teaches me at night." Her brow furrowed. "I don't know if he's still in Tevinter though, cause he said that there were holes in the Fade. He wanted to try to warn the spirits about them so they wouldn't wander in."

 _:Don't tell them about me,:_ Kitty said sharply.

Cassandra's fingers curled into fists. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because no one listens to me," Asha snapped.

Cassandra and Solas groaned and became very interested in setting up their tents. Varric nearly fell over with laughter and clapped her on the back. "It's late enough," he said. "Go to sleep before they strangle you."


End file.
